Heinrich Ehrler

Heinrich Ehrler (14 September 1917-4 April 1945) was a German Luftwaffe fighter ace who was credited with 208 kills during World War II. Ehrler flew over 400 combat missions, and his last kill occurred when Ehrler, who ran out of ammunition, rammed his plane into an Allied bomber over Stendal, Prussia.

Biography
Heinrich Ehrler was born in Oberbalbach, Grand Duchy of Baden, German Empire on 14 September 1917, and he joined the Wehrmacht in 1935. Ehrler served in the artillery and anti-aircraft artillery before serving with the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. Following the start of World War II, he transferred to the Jagdwaffe, and he fought on the Eastern Front, where he claimed the majority of his victories by fighting against the Red Air Force of the Soviet Union. He was scapegoated for the loss of the battleship Tirpitz in 1944, and he was court-martialled, stripped of his command, and sentenced to three years and two months of "honorable imprisonment". In February 1945, however, he returned to command, and he thereafter flew in increasingly desperate air battles without the purpose and dedication that had made him one of the Luftwaffe's most successful aces. On 4 April 1945, he shot down two Allied bombers for his final two victories, and he ran out of ammunition.